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Axios
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Interview: Mayor Ron Nirenberg closes out eight years
As Mayor Ron Nirenberg prepares to depart the office this summer, he's leaving San Antonio with more affordable housing money, transportation plans, a workforce development program and, most recently, major proposals to bring sports and development downtown. Why it matters: Nirenberg is set to be San Antonio's longest-serving mayor since the 1980s. He's reaching his term limits at a time when a major project proposal to move the Spurs downtown hangs in the balance and when the city faces fluctuations in federal funding. State of play: The city has clashed with the Texas Legislature on local control and lost millions in federal health funding under the Trump administration. Catch up quick: Nirenberg will head back to Trinity University in August to work as a distinguished communications professor. San Antonio's next mayor will be either former Air Force undersecretary Gina Ortiz Jones or former Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos, who are competing in a June 7 runoff election. Both have strong ties to Democratic and Republican party politics, respectively. The big picture: Nirenberg tells Axios he sees his major successes as: Recent expansions of Pre-K 4 SA and the creation of the taxpayer-funded Ready to Work program during the pandemic. Plans for two VIA rapid bus lines, including one that will run from the airport to the Missions, to create something like a mass transit system for San Antonio. The passage of the city's first true affordable housing bond alongside upgraded housing goals. The $2.5 billion overhaul of San Antonio International Airport, which includes a new terminal under construction. We sat down to talk with Nirenberg about recent news affecting the city. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. We're getting into the home stretch of the Texas legislative session. Are there bills out there that give you concern for the city and its residents? State Republicans are "eroding self-governance in local communities, particularly urban communities where public opinion is clearly not on the side of the culture wars they're waging. "There's a bill called HB 19 that would essentially prevent every urban community in the state from issuing debt to support basic infrastructure." How do you personally think a mayor should toe the line between working with state officials and pushing back when you represent a blue city in a red state? "We have a perfectly fine relationship with the state when we're working together on a common cause and when we have reasonable debate. It would be a perverse relationship with the state if the expectation is, when they abuse our citizens, we shut up about it." How should the city position itself heading into future years of the Trump administration? You have cuts to services and jobs that could harm locals and local institutions, and maybe the city budget and certain projects. "We're going to have to continue to get through the rough waters ahead, and that's the concern I have for the next mayor — that these are very challenging times coming up economically. … We're gonna have to triage our priorities and our resources accordingly." Recently, proposals to bring the Missions and Spurs downtown have left some people feeling like downtown will become too expensive for everyday residents. Do you share those concerns? "We've gotten a handle on ensuring there's a proper balance to the housing development in downtown that is a mix of affordability and market rate and everything around that. The reason for getting our fundamentals and getting our priorities straight … is so that we can do the things that major cities do to build quality of life." If the Spurs move downtown, how much do you think the city should contribute or not to a new arena, and what type of fund(s) should it be if the city does contribute? "I believe that visitor taxes are a suitable source. … I do think none of this will happen without significant contributions from the Spurs and from private equity. The reality is this is not going to be coming from residents' property taxes." What advice would you give to San Antonio's next mayor? "Continue to work hand in hand with (city manager) Erik (Walsh) and his team. "This city works best when the mayor and the council are working in partnership with the staff. … It doesn't work so well when elected officials are only interested in scoring political points."
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trans youth care ban vetoed by Kansas governor again
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed Senate Bill 63, which would have restricted gender-affirming care for transgender youth. 'Right now, the legislature should be focused on ways to help Kansans cope with rising prices,' Kelly said in a statement emailed late Tuesday. 'That is the most important issue for Kansans. That is where my focus is.' The bill would bar health care providers from administering gender-affirming medical care – including puberty suppressants and hormone therapies – for someone under the age of 18, only for the purposes of gender transitioning. The ban would also apply to gender-affirming surgeries. 'Infringing on parental rights is not appropriate, nor is it a Kansas value,' said Kelly in her veto message. 'As I've said before, it is not the job of politicians to stand between a parent and a child who needs medical care of any kind. This legislation will also drive families, businesses, and health care workers out of our state, stifling our economy and exacerbating our workforce shortage issue.' This is the third time Kelly has vetoed similar transgender youth care bills, but the bill may now have the support to pass. The bill passed the state legislature with flying colors – passing the House 83-35 and the Senate 32-8. In 2023, the attempt to override a past trans care ban veto lost in the House 82-43. MORE: Lawsuit filed by transgender young adults, teens against Trump executive order State Republicans quickly denounced Kelly's veto. 'The governor's devotion to extreme left-wing ideology knows no bounds, vetoing a bipartisan bill that prevents the mutilation of minors,' said State Sen. Ty Masterson in an online statement. 'The Senate stands firmly on the side of protecting Kansas children and will swiftly override her veto before the ink from her pen is dry.' Top national medical associations such as the American Medical Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and American Academy of Pediatrics and more than 20 others argue that gender-affirming care is safe, effective, beneficial, and medically necessary for transgender populations. Kelly joins governors past and present in Ohio and Arkansas in vetoing bills that targeted gender-affirming youth care. However, both of their vetoes were overridden. Across the country, trans youth care restrictions have faced legal hurdles in their enforcement. The battle and debate has most recently made its way to the national stage, with the Supreme Court considering U.S. v. Skrmetti, which will decide if Tennessee's law banning some gender-affirming care for transgender minors violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Trans youth care ban vetoed by Kansas governor again originally appeared on
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgia Senate to vote on bill banning transgender students from girls' sports
The Georgia State Senate is scheduled to vote on Thursday on a bill that would ban transgender students from participating in girls' sports. The Fair and Safe Athletic Opportunities Act was introduced as a priority for lawmakers heading into the legislative session. The bill, which is backed by Senator Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming) would require middle schools, high schools and colleges would be required to designate sports teams as male, female or co-ed based on a player's assigned sex at birth. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Those assigned male at birth would not be allowed to play on a female team. Any student would be allowed to play on a male or co-ed team. 'Biological men do not belong in women's sports, period,' said Lt. Governor Burt Jones. 'This is common sense to everyone but the most radical liberals in Georgia.' Earlier this week, Republican House Speaker Jon Burns introduced a similar bill making its way through the State House of Representatives. Burns' bill would also ban transgender girls from girls' locker rooms. RELATED STORIES: House speaker introduces bill to ban transgender girls from school sports, locker rooms State Republicans take first step toward banning transgender women from women's sports Lt. Gov. announces support for GA Senate recommendations to bar biological men from women's sports State Senate passes bill restricting what sports transgender students can play Both bills come despite there being no confirmed reports of transgender girls trying to compete in girls sports anywhere in Georgia. But some Georgia Republicans say that's not the point. 'How many incidents? What is our threshold? Do we want any young girl in the state of Georgia to be harmed because they were competing against a biological male?' Rep. Josh Bonner (R-Fayetteville) said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
